War (2007) (R) ½
However promising teaming up big-screen tough guys like Jet Li and Jason Statham may have seemed, even by its own modest ambitions, War is a major disappointment.
Story
CIA agent Crawford (Statham) squares off against Triad assassin "Rogue" (Li) in this wretched and unbelievably unmotivated shoot-'em-up. Sooner or later, the two will come face to face--and it can't happen soon enough. If the story made even a modicum of sense, it would be far easier to convey what it's about. There's a lot of talk about loyalty, about vengeance, about honor. Sounds bad, doesn't it? What's worse, and even unforgivable, is that War is a crashing – and crushing – bore. The setting is San Francisco, but aside from about 60 seconds of stock footage, it's painfully clear this sludge was propagated north of the border.
Acting
Both Statham and Li are very charismatic, very physical performers - yet they have alarmingly little to do here except look tough. Even their most fervent fans might well wonder why they bothered to show up. The principal heavy is John Lone, who was far more appealingly villainous in The Shadow and even Rush Hour 2. Super-cutie Devon Aoki again displays her limited command of thespian ability in a "femme fatale" role that goes absolutely nowhere. For whatever reason, Luis Guzman also makes a brief (and hopefully well-paid) appearance, and Saul Rubinek also picks up an easy check as well.
Direction
The culprit in this department is Philip G. Atwell, making his feature directorial debut. There's nowhere to go but up, right? Wrong. There's something to be said for brainless fun, but there's nothing further to be said about a brainless dud. War is a waste of celluloid. This late-summer release from Lionsgate is, at best, a dead-on-arrival throwaway engineered to make a quick killing at the box office. To quote the great Edwin Starr: "War, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing. Say it again."
Bottom Line
Hollywood.com rated this film 1/2 star.
To get the full Quicklook Films experience, uncheck "Enable on this Site" from Adblock Plus
box office top 10
Challengers Released: April 26, 2024 Cast: Zendaya, Josh O'Connor 15M
Unsung Hero Released: April 26, 2024 Cast: Daisy Betts, Joel Smallbone 7.8M
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire Released: March 29, 2024 Cast: Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry 7.2M
Civil War Released: April 12, 2024 Cast: Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura 7M
Abigail Released: April 19, 2024 Cast: Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens 5.3M
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare Released: April 19, 2024 Cast: Henry Cavill, Eiza Gonzalez 3.9M
Kung Fu Panda 4 Released: March 8, 2024 Cast: Jack Black, Viola Davis 3.6M
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Released: March 22, 2024 Cast: Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon 3.3M
Dune: Part Two Released: March 1, 2024 Cast: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya 2M
Boy Kills World Released: April 26, 2024 Cast: Bill Skarsgård, Famke Janssen 1.7M